"Refining the Spirit Root… such a secret technique truly exists?" Yuan Ming couldn't help but be skeptical.

Ever since he had embarked on the Immortal Path, he knew that the Spirit Root was innate. He had never heard of any acquired secret techniques or elixirs that could refine the Spirit Root and enhance one's aptitude.

Yet this Jade Scroll spoke with certainty, and it was treasured and preserved by Qing Tong, could it really be true?

If it was indeed so, then it would be rather defying the heavens.

Yuan Ming continued reading, his expression becoming increasingly excited, then he fell silent, pondering, and finally gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

The Ju Mang Spirit Technique was wonderfully imaginative and brilliantly conceived, far surpassing any Wood Attribute secret technique or Cultivation Technique he had encountered before. The specific method involved finding a type of Yimu Spiritual Plant and refining it with one's own blood before planting it. It should be nurtured with Mana at all times, preparing it to become something akin to a Lifebound Magical Treasure.

As the Spirit Plant grew, the master would be nourished by it, thereby transforming the Spirit Root.

However, the requirements of the Ju Mang Spirit Technique for the Spirit Plant were strict; firstly, the grade could not be too low, otherwise, there would be no effect, or the effect would be poor.

The higher the grade of the Yimu Spiritual Plant, the better the effect on refining the Spirit Root.

Secondly, the Yimu Spiritual Plant must fully match the attribute of the person casting it. Even the slightest difference would lead to failure and a severe backlash.

Yuan Ming picked up the seed that was both blue and green in color; this item was the Spirit Plant that Qing Tong had found for herself, the Water Wood Spirit Nan.

Qing Tong had a dual Water and Wood Attribute Spirit Root, a perfect match for the Water Wood Spirit Nan.

Finding a Yimu Spiritual Plant was not easy. Apart from the Five Elements Creation Tree—a once-in-a-millennium Spiritual Seed—higher plants in the Cultivation World generally had simpler attributes.

There are many pure Wood Attribute Spiritual Plants, just as there are many dual-attributed ones like the Water Wood Spirit Nan. Three-attributed Spiritual Plants are rare, as for four-attributed Yimu Spiritual Plants, Yuan Ming had never even heard of them.

"It seems my Spirit Root is truly unwelcome wherever it goes, might as well add one more type and make it a Five Elements Spirit Root so I can also use the Five Elements Creation Tree to enhance it," Yuan Ming sighed inwardly.

This technique was not usable by him, but Xi Ying could use it; she had a Five Elements Spirit Root, and the Five Elements Creation Tree exactly met the requirements.

However, the cultivation of the Ju Mang Spirit Technique was even more challenging than that. Upon finding the suitable Spirit Plant and planting it, the real difficulties would begin.

The growth of the Spirit Plant required the master's full participation, constantly nurturing it with Mana and maintaining a close connection between them.

Therefore, cultivating the Ju Mang Spirit Technique required being confined to one place for a long time, unable to leave, almost like being imprisoned. Only those who truly endured hardships could persist with it.

The Ju Mang Spirit Technique had a certain ripening effect, which could significantly shorten the time needed for the Spirit Plant to mature. However, the higher the grade of the Spirit Plant, the longer it took to grow. The Five Elements Creation Tree, being a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root, would take hundreds of years to grow to a functional stage.

Xi Ying seemed to enjoy traveling around, so this secret technique might be unattainable for her.

But Yuan Ming could overcome this obstacle.

He could plant the Spirit Plant within the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space, where his Mana could constantly enter and nurture the Spirit Plant without being confined to one place.

"Hmm, these are notes left by others…" Yuan Ming noticed at the end.

There were a few lines of small text at the end of the Jade Scroll, seemingly not written by the same person as before.

According to these lines, not only did the Ju Mang Spirit Technique enhance the Spirit Root, but it also had some benefits for breaking through barriers.

Qing Tong collected the Water Wood Spirit Nan partly to refine her Spirit Root, and perhaps also intended to use the secret technique as an aid to breakthrough the Nascent Soul Stage bottleneck.

"Truly a marvelous secret technique, such a pity," Yuan Ming regretted deeply, placing the Jade Scroll and the seed back into the Jade Box and putting it away.

He then checked another red Storage Bag, which held nothing special, just some Spirit Stones and materials.

Yuan Ming calmed himself and took out an elixir to swallow, Cultivating to refine it.

He also controlled his soul splitting to operate the Heart Cleansing Technique while refining the increasingly abundant Desire Power to enhance his Divine Soul.

This time, rescuing Yan Sijing, although Xi Ying took the lead, Yuan Ming, not being of a self-centered macho disposition, was also not inclined to always hide behind a woman. He needed to enhance his strength urgently.

…

Three days later, the Immortal Fruit Conference officially began!

In the morning, the road leading from Fusang City to outside was thronged with people. The land inside the city was extremely valuable, scrimping every inch of land. The competition venue was set by the lakeside of Fire Lake outside the city.

In addition to the 128 Islands qualified to compete in the Immortal Fruit Conference, nearly five hundred islands came to watch.

Tens of thousands of cultivators gathered from throughout the East Sea Area.

It was fortunate that Fusang Island was the largest among the First-class Islands, both in terrain and strength sufficient to restrain these foreign Cultivators, otherwise, managing these foreigners would have been no easy task.

Yuan Ming and Xi Ying, representing Red Ganoderma Island, felt no pre-competition tension at all and didn't even follow Bi Shuirou and other Red Ganoderma Island Cultivators to the venue ahead but instead mingled in the crowd, strolling leisurely.

"It's said that the sunrise over Fusang Island boasts the most magnificent views in the East Sea, known as 'green seas advancing golden waves, divine birds gather heavenly fire.' Sadly, I haven't witnessed it these past days," Yuan Ming casually remarked, much like a traveling tourist.

Xi Ying, wearing a veil hat and covered by a light gauze, laughed and said, "Only when that Golden Crow occasionally reveals its form does this marvelous scene appear; it is not something that can be seen at all times. But speaking of which, are you actually concerned about this?"

"I've read such verses in books before, and only now that I am here have such thoughts arisen," Yuan Ming responded with a smile.

"If you really want to see, it's not without a solution. Before we leave here, we could stir up some trouble, alarm that Golden Crow, and then we might get the chance," Xi Ying, beneath the light gauze, furrowed her brow in a smile, seemingly seriously considering the feasibility of this idea.

"There's no need for that," Yuan Ming said, quickly waving his hand.

In the past few days, he had repeatedly explored the area above the Fusang Divine Tree, but the Golden Crow demon beast had never appeared.

As the two of them rushed with everyone else to the venue, the area near a fairly large lake near the Fusang Divine Tree was already bustling with noise.

The lake was not very large, and the water, for some reason, was continuously rippling, reflecting the sky's fire clouds, making it look like a bunch of flowing flames, hence the name Flame Lake.

A vast square was situated by the lake shore, paved with white jade, smooth as a mirror, yet it featured no platforms like those used for fights, but only a blue stone dais.

Ten tables were set up on the dais, each backed by a flagpole with a flag that bore the name of an island. These were indeed the positions of the thirteen first-class islands of the East Sea.

The largest flagpole in the center was embroidered with water cloud patterns and bore the words "Fusang Island" in large characters.

There was still some time before the start of the Immortal Fruit Conference, and these thirteen tables were still vacant; the heads of the thirteen first-class islands had yet to take their seats.

The positions for the participants from the second-level islands were placed in front of the blue stone dais; each also had a flagpole dedicated to them.

In the far front, there were also others who came to watch the event, including people from second-level and third-level islands who had not qualified to compete.

Although they could not participate in the competition, their enthusiasm for watching was undiminished, and they vigorously discussed the past records of various islands and predicted the results of this event.

At the front of the square, the representatives of more than a hundred islands had gradually arrived, taking their places.

Under the flag of Red Ganoderma Island, Bi Shuirou gently leaned on an armrest, her expression serene. Next to her was a pot of flower brewed spiritual wine, from which she poured a cup but didn't rush to drink, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Hehe, Island Master Bishui, how come you are all alone here? Could it be that there's no one else available on your island?" At that moment, a burly man with a loud voice, rubbing his full beard, approached Bi Shuirou.

Behind him followed a man with a sinister expression, dressed in red gauze, and a young woman in coarse clothes, the former looking as if he might have some homosexual tendencies, while the latter looked like a rough-skinned kitchen maid.

"What does whether my island has anyone available have to do with Island Master Luo?" Bi Shuirou shot him a glance, then returned her gaze apace, a look of disdain clearly expressed.

"It's just that I'm worried that Island Master Bishui might be at a disadvantage... Besides, the contest for the top sixteen involves three rounds, and the competitors for each round cannot be repeated. Island Master Bishui can't possibly compete by herself in all of them. If Red Ganoderma Island has no one else available, why not join us at Luoshan Island? We could join forces, and this time we could definitely secure a spot," the bearded man said with a sly smile, seemingly impervious to offense.

"If Island Master Luo is indeed interested in coming to our Red Ganoderma Island, I wouldn't mind offering you a seat as the Deputy Island Master," Bi Shuirou sneered, replying.

"I'd rather not be the Deputy Island Master; if Island Master Bishui would like a suitor to propose marriage, I'd be quite happy indeed, haha…" The bearded man laughed lasciviously, rubbing his beard as he walked to his own place.

Bi Shuirou's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes.

A moment later, Yuan Ming and Xi Ying arrived at the venue, chatting and laughing, and sat down beside Bi Shuirou.

Xi Ying noticed her unusual expression and asked, "Fellow Daoist Bishui, is there something wrong?"

"Fellow Daoists, in the upcoming matches, if you encounter someone from Luoshan Island, could you possibly go a bit harder?" Bi Shuirou didn't explain, just asked softly.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming looked towards the Luoshan Island flag and saw Island Master Luo rubbing his beard while gesturing towards this side.

His hearing was extraordinary; he immediately heard that the other was uttering vulgar words about wanting to have Bi Shuirou under him, and thus understood why Bi Shuirou made such a request.

"If luck serves and we encounter them, we will certainly fulfill Fellow Daoist Bishui's wish," Yuan Ming smiled in response, passing along his findings to Xi Ying via a transmission.

A while later, the square was packed; people from the respective islands had all taken their places under the flags, and the individuals from the thirteen first-level islands also arrived jointly, taking their positions on the dais.

Unlike the other participating islands where three persons from each arrived together, aside from Fusang Island, which hosted the conference, only one representative from each of the other twelve islands took the stage, making it impossible to tell at a glance who the contestants were.

After they exchanged greetings and took their seats, Xu Fu, the Deputy Island Master of Fusang Island, a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Middle Stage whom Yuan Ming had seen before when exploring Fusang City with his Divine Sense, walked to the front of the dais.

This person was dressed in a white gown embroidered with golden patterns, wearing a white high crown, had a gaunt face with a gentle demeanor, and sported five snow-white long beards hanging from his chest, presenting the image of an immortal with a celestial demeanor from overseas.

He raised his hand in a calming gesture, and the entire square quickly fell silent.

After a few customary greetings to the guests, he went straight to the point and announced, "This martial contest aims to select sixteen islands with virtues matching their positions to participate in the subsequent rites of the Immortal Fruit Conference. I hope everyone will uphold their Daoist hearts and strive to their fullest."

What he referred to as "virtue" was naturally martial virtue.

Following his words, he waved his hand, and ripples spread through the void, instantly misting over, and a blue water screen, tens of feet tall, hovered in midair.

On the water screen, as the ripples undulated, golden characters emerged, displaying the grouping and matchups for this competition's contest.

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